Eye of the Beholder
by The Silent Scream
Summary: Sometimes, we only see what we want to see, especially when the truth is too painful to face.


Author's Note: I should really scold my muse for giving me all those one-shot ideas instead of stuff for the multi-chaptered fic I am working on. Working with what I have though, well, here we go.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. Just borrowing it for a little while, then I'll put it all back, I promise!

Eye of the Beholder

Haruka never went anywhere without Michiru. At least, this was how it felt ever since they had finished their mission; of course, there still were times when they went somewhere alone, without the other, but they were rare, especially now, now that they finally had the chance for a more or less normal life.

There still were monster attacks, scattered remains of the evil which had been after the talismans along with them; those were always swiftly dealt with though, standing no chance against the combined forces of the Inner and Outer Senshi, the two groups slowly, but steadily learning to work together.

Now, on another day after such a random daimon popping up out of nowhere, one Uranus and Neptune had taken of on their own, finishing it off and heading back to their home before the others even had arrived at the scene, the couple enjoyed a calm, quiet breakfast together, making plans for the day, nothing special, just normal things normal people did, some of them pleasant, like the trip to the arcade Haruka wanted to make, some more of a necessity, like the shopping for groceries.

It was quickly decided that they would do the not so pleasant things first, so they'd have time for leisure afterwards; and so, after breakfast, they made their way to the nearest supermarket first, taking their time there, discussing at length which brand of cereal to buy and why it was insane that Haruka insisted on getting ten different kinds of candy.

During the candy dispute, the blonde noticed people staring at them, unabashed and openly; frowning, she pointed this out to Michiru, only to smile again at the other woman's response, as the violinist pointed out that this regularly happened, and could be blamed on the fact that they both were quite the sight to look at.

Obviously, the rest of Tokyo agreed with that sentiment; while the couple finished their shopping and walked back home, chatting about trivial, normal things, people kept staring at them, and even though Haruka supposed that she should have gotten used to it by now, she found it unnerving after a while.

"Never mind them", Michiru told her after she had voiced those feelings, taking her hand and squeezing it tenderly, "they are just like the schoolgirls who crushed on you all during High School."

"Like the one girl who wanted to ride with me in my car so badly, huh", Haruka teased, earning light laughter and a nod from her partner; she smiled back at her, noticing another man staring, but shrugging it off, ignoring that something was off about the way he looked at her, that the expression on his face was far from the adoration she had seen in countless eyes.

Deciding not to bother about the gawking people anymore, Haruka focused fully on her partner instead, knowing she would never tire of looking at Michiru; the smaller woman was as breathtakingly beautiful as always, not a sign of what they had been through, none of the blood and…

_There was no blood, _Haruka reminded herself, giving her head a slight shake as if to clear it, _when her heart crystal, her talisman, came out, there was no blood._

"Are you alright?" Michiru wanted to know, concerned, having noticed her brief moment of dismay; smiling again, the blonde reassured her that she was, but still she was glad when they reached the apartment building, and could retreat into their home for a while, away from all the gawking eyes.

Once the groceries had been put away, doing laundry was next; and afterwards, before the trip to the arcade, they snuggled on the couch for a while, simply enjoying being so close to each other, sharing gentle kisses and tender touches, revelling in the love they felt for each other.

"I will love you forever", Haruka murmured, finally finding herself able to say these words, without choking on them _like she choked on – _

That thought was quickly cut off, something made easier by Michiru smiling at her and reassuring her that she loved her too, and always would, no matter what; and after these heartfelt confessions, they shared another deep, but tender kiss, before they finally decided it was time to get moving again, looking forward to the fun part of their day.

* * *

"Haruka-san", Rei was the first to greet her after the couple had entered the arcade, had spotted the girls and had moved over to them; to Haruka's slight surprise, she didn't sound happy to see her, but strangely wary, looking at her as if she expected her to do… something any moment.

The others, the blonde then noticed, were looking at her the same way; Makoto was the only one smiling, a smile barely visible, and Usagi looked as if she was close to bursting into tears, making her wonder if something bad had happened since they'd last met.

"We haven't seen you since… in quite some time", Minako now said, Haruka only now realizing that no one had acknowledged Michiru yet, behaviour she thought to be quite rude, "how are you?"

"We're fine", Haruka told her, smiling as she felt Michiru's hand come to a rest in the crook of her arm, not missing the look the girls exchanged, "but how are you? You all look rather unhappy, did something happen? Did we miss something?"

They exchanged another look, and the blonde was starting to feel quite annoyed by their strange behaviour; then, Rei spoke up again, sounding tentative now, as if she wasn't sure how the racer would react to her words.

"Haruka-san", she started, still not even looking at Michiru, "when you say _we_… You mean Michiru-san and yourself?"

"Of course", Haruka gave back, raising an eyebrow as she asked herself what a strange question this was to ask, "whom else would I mean?"

To her shock, Usagi burst into tears in response, with a heartbroken sob; immediately, Ami began to comfort her, pulling her into an embrace and holding her, the others looking at her with sadness in their eyes now before they focused on Haruka again, Makoto being the next to speak, her words nearly making the blonde laugh out loud.

"Haruka-san", she, too, started with her name, as if her nonsense would make more sense then, "you know that Michiru-san is…"

She trailed off, swallowing heavily; shaking her head, Haruka shot her a confused look in response, the same emotion in her voice as she replied. "What are you talking about? Michiru's right here. I don't know why you are ignoring her, but she's here beside me."

As she said the last few words, the feeling of Michiru's hand on her arm vanished, and almost automatically, she turned her head to look at her partner… only to find herself alone, and Michiru gone.

"Haruka-san", Minako now joined the discussion as well, while Usagi's crying had died down to soft sobs and sniffles, "we know this is hard for you, but we can help you…"

"I don't need any help", Haruka shot back, losing her temper now, asking herself what kind of sick joke this was and where Michiru had gone, if she was in on this, as out of character as it seemed for her, "_we _don't need help. We're fine. We're together, and we're fine."

"Michiru's gone", Rei almost snapped at her, ever the blunt one, the one to speak such harsh lies _(truths)_, "you know she is, you need help…"

"What are you saying", the blonde replied, almost feeling like laughing once more, "is this some childish prank?"

"You know what I'm saying", Rei told her, some of the sharpness vanishing from her voice, replaced by sympathy, something which made Haruka angry, even though she wasn't sure why, "we know this is hard for you, but you have to face this, you were there when she—"

"I don't have time for this", Haruka cut her off, letting her anger show through both her voice and her expression, "and I don't need to listen to this drivel. I don't know what you are trying to accomplish, but you better find someone else for your games."

Without giving anyone else the chance to say anything, she turned and marched off, studiously ignoring it when Rei called after her; instead of thinking about what the younger woman had said, she focused on finding Michiru, telling herself that she couldn't be far, that she maybe had gone to get a drink or…

Someone grabbed her arm, and she spun around, sure that it would be her partner; instead, she found herself looking at Usagi, the flow of tears having stopped, her eyes still filled with a deep sadness though, sadness and sympathy, emotions which didn't fuel Haruka's anger this time, but made her feel strangely numb as she found herself mesmerized by the look on the normally cheerful girl's face.

_She had the same look on her face when it happened, _a treacherous voice whispered in the back of her mind, from the darkest corners, where it easily could have been ignored during the day, _when you knelt there, holding her…_

And she had been holding her, Haruka remembered, feeling as if the ground was vanishing from beneath her feet, she had been holding Michiru after the stray daimon had ran her through with the spear it had been wielding as a weapon, had held her so close, telling her that she loved her, that she always would, while blood had been dripping…

"No", Haruka hoarsely pressed out, stepping back, out of Usagi's light grasp, "she's fine, I know she is. She's waiting for me at home."

"Haruka", Usagi started, but the blonde didn't listen, refused to listen; she turned and started to walk, then broke into a run, out of the arcade and down the sidewalk, away from the look in Usagi's eyes, that genuine, heartbroken sympathy and pity for her.

_Lies, lies, lies, _she chanted to herself as she ran, the word pulsing through her head in the rhythm of her footsteps; and sooner than she knew, she was back home, and Michiru was there, of course she was, waiting for her in the hallway with open arms, leading her to the couch straight away, telling her that she had to lie down after all the excitement and exhaustion.

"They told lies", Haruka told her as she let the smaller woman cradle her tenderly, "they said you're gone, but you're not, you're here, and you'll never leave me…"

"I'll never leave you", Michiru confirmed, caressing her hair tenderly, "don't listen to what they say. I'm here with you, and I'll never leave you, my love."

Closing her eyes, Haruka sank further into her embrace, breathing her scent in deeply; and just as she wanted her to, Michiru kept holding her, caressing her hair and her back, softly murmuring to her, until all the bad thoughts and lies were gone from her broken mind, leaving her with a small, but happy smile on her face as she drifted off into sleep.

End.

Author's Note 2: This was inspired by a blog post I read a while ago, one which, in a humorous way, described Haruka imagining Michiru with her wherever she goes and whatever she does. My brain, being the weird place it is, made the whole thing much darker than it originally has been, but some things just have to be let out of the system. Thank you for reading :)


End file.
